• News
    • Press Releases
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Opinion
    • Guest Columns
    • Submit A Column
    • Letters to The Editor
    • Submit a Letter
  • Arts & Living
    • Reviews
  • Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
      • Mens
      • Womens
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Hockey
    • Lacrosse
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Tennis
    • Volleyball
    • XC/Track & Field
  • Classifieds
  • Archives
    • Current Issue
    • 2019 Archive
    • 2018 Archive
    • 2017 Archive
    • 2016 Archive
    • 2015 Archive
    • 2014 Archive
    • 2013 Archive
    • 2012 Archive
    • History
  • Contact
    • Join
    • Advertising
  • Subscribe
The Sentinel
  • June 29th, 2022
  • About
  • KSUSM
  • History
  • Policies
  • Our Sister Media
    • Owl Radio
The Sentinel
  • News
    • Press Releases
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Opinion
    • Guest Columns
    • Submit A Column
    • Letters to The Editor
    • Submit a Letter
  • Arts & Living
    • Reviews
  • Sports
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
      • Mens
      • Womens
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Hockey
    • Lacrosse
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Tennis
    • Volleyball
    • XC/Track & Field
  • Classifieds
  • Archives
    • Current Issue
    • 2019 Archive
    • 2018 Archive
    • 2017 Archive
    • 2016 Archive
    • 2015 Archive
    • 2014 Archive
    • 2013 Archive
    • 2012 Archive
    • History
  • Contact
    • Join
    • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS
  • Best of KSU 2017
  • Best of KSU 2018
  • Guest Columns
  • Opinion Blog
OPINION: Ruth Bader Ginsberg replacement should be chosen after presidential election
Opinion

OPINION: Ruth Bader Ginsberg replacement should be chosen after presidential election

September 28th, 2020 Ayla Mcginnis 127

On September 18, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg unfortunately passed away after complications with metastatic cancer of the pancreas, according to NPR. Ginsberg, a feminist icon and champion for women’s rights, was the second woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are pushing for the confirmation of her replacement this year — which goes against the precedent put in place by Senate Republicans in 2016, as well as Ginsberg’s last dying wish.

In 2016 — an election year — President Barack Obama attempted to appoint a justice to the Supreme Court after the death of Antonin Scalia. At the time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, backed by the Republican majority Senate, stated that “any appointment by the sitting president [is] null and void,” according to NPR. This action set the precedent that a sitting president could not make a Supreme Court appointment during an election year.

On the day of Ginsberg’s passing, McConnell released a statement saying, “President Trump’s [Supreme Court] nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” according to his Senate Majority Leader website.

In essence, McConnell is arguing that because there is a Republican president and a Republican majority Senate, Trump’s Supreme Court nomination will be representative of the American people and their wants and needs. Thus, though it is an election year, the 2016 precedent does not apply, as the current president is not of the opposing party to the Senate majority.

McConnell’s logic is indubitably fallible. As of August 12, 26 percent of Americans self-identify as Republicans, while 31 percent identify as Democrats, according to Gallup. McConnell argues that because Republicans hold the Senate and Americans elected a Republican president in 2016 — a president who did not win the majority of the popular vote — Republicans represent the majority of Americans. Polling data clearly states otherwise.

“I’m dead set on confirming [Donald Trump’s] nominee,” South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said on his Twitter account. As a Republican Senator, Graham’s statement comes as no surprise.

However, in 2016 at a senate hearing regarding Obama’s attempted Supreme Court appointment, Graham stated, “I want you to use my words against me. If there is a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say, ‘Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president … make that nomination,'” according to a video of Graham posted on The Hill. Graham’s — and the Republican Senate’s — hypocrisy is evident.

Perhaps the most compelling argument to delay the Supreme Court appointment, though, is the fact that Ginsberg’s last dying wish was for her replacement not to be appointed until after the election. “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” Ginsberg dictated to her granddaughter in the final days of her life, according to the Times of Israel. “The rest of my work is a matter of public record.”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg served 27 years in the U.S. Supreme Court and dedicated her life to her belief in the fundamental institutions of American governance. “For her, keeping politics out of the Supreme Court was a very important thing,” Ginsberg’s granddaughter, Clara Spera, stated in an interview with BBC Newshour. And yet, the nature of Ginsberg’s replacement has become political in nature, going against the very foundation of her career as a Supreme Court Justice.

Regardless of anyone’s opinion of Ginsberg’s decisions while on the Supreme Court, Trump and the Republican Senate should not appoint and confirm her replacement this year. Not only would this decision go directly against the precedent in place, but it would also be an insult to Ginsberg and her lifelong commitment to the American people and the American government.

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article University protecting status of former Atlanta police officer who killed Black man
Previous article KSUPD police arrest student for DUI on Marietta campus

Related Posts

OPINION: Students should visit museums to learn about history, other disciplines Opinion
April 20th, 2022

OPINION: Students should visit museums to learn about history, other disciplines

Opinion

OPINION: Students should celebrate Judge Jackson's confirmation by reading about Black history

Apr 20th, 202225
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court on April 7, making history as the first...
Opinion

OPINION: Students facing food insecurity should use CARES pantry

Apr 20th, 202223
Students at Kennesaw State should take advantage of the services offered by Campus Awareness, Resource &...

About The Sentinel

The Sentinel student newspaper is a registered student organization at Kennesaw State University and is currently published in five column broadsheet format, weekly (Tuesdays) during the Fall and Spring semesters and twice during the Summer. The Sentinel is part of Kennesaw State Student Media (KSUSM).

Recent Discussion

  • Ольга on OTN: Shooting at Heidelburg University leaves one dead, four wounded
  • Lida Mogahi on Kennesaw named in top 10 safest Georgia cities
  • Elefterios Mitsos on Outside the Nest: Greeks protest Macedonia’s name
  • James on Opinion: KSU police should shift focus from non-violent crimes
  • Rick on Opinion: KSU police should shift focus from non-violent crimes
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Arts & Living
  • Sports
  • Classifieds
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Back to top
© KSU Sentinel 2021. All rights reserved.
Website by Joel McRae